Pierre Laporte

Pierre Laporte (25 February, 1921 – 17 October, 1970), was a Canadian politician who was the Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour of the province of Quebec before being kidnapped and murdered by members of the terrorist group Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis.

Pierre Laporte was born in Montreal, Quebec. He was a journalist with "Le Devoir" newspaper from 1945 to 1961, and was known for his crusading work against the government of Quebec's then-Premier Maurice Duplessis.

After Duplessis' death Laporte successfully ran for a seat in Chambly in the Quebec National Assembly and served in the government of Premier Jean Lesage. Laporte was a member of the Quebec Liberal Party, and considered to be a leading member of the party's left wing. In 1969 after Lesage stepped down as party leader Laporte ran to succeed him, but lost the position to fellow cabinet member Robert Bourassa.

When Bourassa was elected Premier of Quebec in 1970, he appointed Laporte as his Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour.

On October 10, 1970 Laporte was kidnapped from his home in Saint-Lambert, Quebec by FLQ. They dubbed him the "Minister of Unemployment and Assimilation," and held him hostage in an anti-government protest. Pierre Laporte's dead body was found in the trunk of a car seven days later on October 17. He had been strangled. His kidnappers were subsequently captured and sentenced to long prison terms for his murder, but only served terms ranging from 7 to 11 years.

Pierre Laporte was buried in the Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges in Montreal, Quebec.

Honours

Many sites and landmarks were named to honour Pierre Laporte. They include:

* The provincial electoral district of Laporte;
* "Rue Pierre-Laporte" (Pierre Laporte Street), located in Shawinigan, Mauricie;
* "Pont Pierre-Laporte" (Pierre Laporte Bridge), located near Quebec City;
* several schools in Quebec and other parts of Canada. EX. Pierre Laporte Middle School, Toronto, Ontario

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/10/newsid_2531000/2531261.stm BBC On this day October 10, 1970 Canadian minister seized by gunmen]
* [http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-71-101-602/conflict_war/october_crisis/ CBC Archives October 11, 1970 Labour minister kidnapped]
* [http://www2.csmb.qc.ca/pierre-laporte/ École secondaire Pierre-Laporte in Mont-Royal, Quebec]
*